‘$1.1M?’ That was the question posed by my business partner, Ben, late last night. Earlier in the day, I had Twittered that I had made that amount in the first few hours of the day, and he was (rightly) seeking clarification.

While I won’t breach the confidentiality of these deals for the sake of blogging, I will say that I’ve got about $10M more in deals to close this month. (I can’t wait until my partner reads that line!)

But the point of today’s musing isn’t about the deals that I’m doing, but rather, the fact that Twitter (and other online status update tools) is a bonafide way of sharing information with folks and a sign of the times.

I haven’t been Twittering long (and I actually prefer Facebook’s status update anyway) but there is definitely a community heavily invested in the application (and others like it). While I’ve got a small ‘cult of Stephen’ on Twitter, there are folks following (and being followed by) thousands of other Twitter-ers.

In fact, there are LOTS of cats invested in all of these online social engines and communities, and they are becoming inextricable extensions of many peoples’ daily lives.

I wrote a post a few months back about how I threw an event utilizing viral tools solely to promote it. Since then, my friends and colleagues have held over 30 events where the sole means of notifying potential attendees was Facebook. No calls. No flyers. No website. Just Facebook. And the joints were packed.

The deals I alluded to earlier, are with folks who get that the old rules of engagement no longer apply, and if you’re going to connect with your targets, you can no longer wait for them to come to you (like sheep). You’ve got to meet them where they are.

That means in their online communities, on their mobile devices and offline destinations where they gather (the social watering holes). Brands who can reinvent themselves or learn to speak the new language of engagement, are the ones that will be around tomorrow.

The New World Order is comprised of IM, text, mobile. You’re either opted in, or you’re not. A brand’s failure to adapt to this NWO will mean it’s obsolescence and extinction (like the dinosaurs and their inability to adapt to cold).

$1.1M represents two brands that aren’t trying to go the way of the dinosaur, and they’ve engaged me to help them find their way.

My goal is to impart them (and you) with the skills to stay relevant and an understanding of the paradigm shift that’s forcing brands to do better.